EARLY STAGE INVESTMENTS
Former defence secretary Ajay Kumar joins VC play with early-stage fund
Ajay Kumar, a former bureaucrat who retired as India’s defence secretary in 2022, has set up a new venture fund, Mounttech Growth Fund, to back early-stage startups. The Rs 250-crore fund has secured approval from Sebi. The fund will look to back startups in the space, aerospace, and deep tech sectors.
PE, VC funding slows in first half of 2024; secondary deals become prominent
Secondary stake sales and buyouts are driving most of the larger deals being made by private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) funds in new-age firms, data from investment banking firm DC Advisory showed. In the first six months of 2024, when 37 deals took place in the $50-500 million range, 62% were secondary transactions or buyouts, with external primary investment rounds making up only 13%.
Global firms buy PB Fintech stakes from early backers
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have lapped up shares in Gurugram-based listed fintech firm PB Fintech, as its founders and early investors sold their shares, in full or in part, in multiple tranches. These transactions happened through bulk deals when several early-stage investors of the company exited the firm fully or partly after 2021, when it went public.
8X Ventures closes India-focused deeptech fund at Rs 200 crore
8X Ventures announced the first close of its second India-focused deeptech fund at Rs 200 crore, with a green shoe option of Rs 100 crore, aiming to back 18-20 early-stage Indian deeptech startups over three years.
Early-stage VC Z21 Ventures planning $40 million second fund
Z21 Ventures, an early-stage investment firm focusing on the India-US corridor, has fully deployed its first $5-million fund and is gearing up to launch a $40 million second fund. The firm, founded in 2022 by Abhinav Shashank and Raj Shekhar Singh, targets enterprise software and hardware startups with investments ranging from $100,000 to $150,000, backed by a community of Indian-origin technology executives like Google, Amazon, and Meta.
Silicon Valley’s South Park Commons launches Bengaluru outpost in collaboration with Binny Bansal
Silicon Valley-based early-stage venture fund South Park Commons made its India entry with an outpost in Bengaluru. This is its first international location outside of the US. The fund was launched in 2016 as a collective of engineers, founders and researchers by husband-wife duo of Ruchi Sanghvi and Aditya Agarwal.
Best Electronic Early Development Toys for Kids and Toddlers
As the internet is getting more and more prevalent, we must keep a check on our kids’ screen time. We must make sure that they are engaging in playful, educational, and interactive activities instead of watching cartoons and other content on screens. One way of doing so is to get them electronic early development toys so that they are engaged in educational learning.
Bonds, rupee stage strong rebound on poll outlook
Government bond yields closed at their lowest in over two years, and the rupee saw its largest single-day gain since December, driven by exit polls predicting a strong NDA victory in the general elections.
100X.VC invests $2.7 million in 17 startups
100X.VC, a Mumbai venture capitalist firm, injected $2.7 million into 17 startups in their 11th cohort. This brings their total portfolio to 161 companies. Ninad Karpe, founder and partner at 100X.VC, said they invested Rs 1.25 crore in each startup and provided mentorship to help them refine their products and go-to-market strategies.
Venture capital funding in crypto rises to $2.4 billion: PitchBook
Funding was spread across 518 deals and rose by 40.3% from the previous quarter, according to data firm PitchBook. Global venture capital investments dropped to a near five-year low in the same period.
ThinKuvate launches Rs 100 crore maiden India fund
Technology-focused ThinKuvate India Fund will take a sector-agnostic approach and invest up to Rs 3 crore as initial amount.
VC funding for women-led startups declined in 2023: report
A new report reveals a decline in VC funding for women-led businesses in India. According to WinPe, a non-profit organisation focused on gender diversity in private equity, the share of funding going to female founders dropped to just 9.3% in 2023, compared to 14.7% in 2021.
Unicorn sightings slump; Tata’s chip exports
Happy Tuesday! Despite deal activity in late-stage startups showing signs of a revival, new unicorns aren’t being birthed. This and more in today’s edition of ETtech Morning Dispatch.
Early stage VC IvyCap Ventures announces final close of third fund at Rs 2,100 crore
The fund is allocating a significant portion of its third fund to invest in around 25 early-stage startups. These initial investments will typically range from Rs 30 crore to Rs 50 crore. Some of the startups that have already received funding include Dhruva Space, Snitch, Celcius Logistics, GradRight, Eggoz, and Flexifyme.
Mohit Gupta, Mukesh Bansal’s omnichannel fashion startup Lyskraft raises $26 million in seed funding
Former Zomato executive Gupta will steer the venture as CEO, Bansal to stay away from operations. The fashion startup will focus on offline play in the premium women's wear fashion category and expand into other lifestyle segments later.
Flipkart Ventures to fund, mentor GenAI-based early stage startups
Flipkart Ventures' Flipkart Leap Ahead (FLA) programme accelerates early-stage startups with USD 200,000 to USD 500,000 equity investments, mentorship from industry veterans, and a focus on GenAI solutions for hyper-growth.
Fintech funding in Q4 down over 50% YoY, but up 59% from Q3
According to the Fintech India report released by data intelligence platform Tracxn, funding during the January-March quarter dried up year on year across stages, with seed stage down 77% to $9.9 million, early stage down 42% to $147 million and late stage falling 60% to $394 million, compared to the previous year.
Nexus MD Sameer Brij Verma quits; will launch multi-stage fund
The fund will likely be $150-200 million in size, Verma will be a solo partner with a team of around a dozen executives.
8i Ventures launches seed funding initiative 'Origami' to back early-stage startups
Early-stage venture capital fund 8i Ventures has introduced Origami, a seed funding initiative offering investments of $250,000 to $2 million for startups. The program aims to streamline the investment process and has allocated $10 million to back eight to ten startups this year.
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